(2019-02-18). Trump's Withdrawal From the Iran Nuclear Deal Invites Disaster (Video). truthdig.com In the latest episode of "On Contact," Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges examines the dangers of President Donald Trump's decision to dismantle the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal. Hedges is joined by fellow Truthdig contributor and former weapons inspector for the United Nations in Iraq Scott Ritter, who accuses former CIA director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of a "dereliction of duty." | "This is another example of the United State…
(2019-02-18). What Happened to the Remains of Khashoggi's Predecessor? counterpunch.org Ghadanfar Rokon Abadi was Iran's senior intelligence officer in Beirut in the late 1990s. I met him many times and he was always frank about Iran's support for Hezbollah in Lebanon; he even spoke to students at a Christian university in east Beirut to explain why his country supported Syria. He was not very convincing: More
(2019-02-18). It's Not Just Trump and the Republicans. counterpunch.org There is a lot of talk lately in the liberal media about how President Trump and his Neocon advisors John Bolton (National Security Advisor) and Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State) along with his acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, are moving the country and the world dangerously closer to a catastrophic global nuclear war with the More
(2019-02-18). Israeli Police Evict Palestinians From Home Without Notice. telesurenglish.net Israeli police evicted a Palestinian family from their home Sunday in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The Jewish settlers occupied their home after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favor of the settlers. | RELATED: | US Singer John Legend Defends Human Rights of Palestinians | The police clashed with the Palestinians and also guarded the Israeli settlers. | "We live there, it's my house, it's my whole life," said Rania Abu Assab who lived in the house with her family…
(2019-02-18). 10 things you need to know about Venezuela's human rights crisis. amnesty.org The human rights crisis that has engulfed Venezuela for the past few years has shattered the lives of millions of people. Here's what you need to know: | 1 – Excessive use of force: | Much of the current unrest in Venezuela can be traced back to 29 March 2017, when the Supreme Court of Justice – backed by President Nicolás Maduro – moved to take over the National Assembly, where the opposition holds a majority. This triggered protests that were repressed by the Maduro administration with the unlawful and disproportionate use of force. Between April and July 2017, more than 120 people were killed, around 1…
(2019-02-18). John Pilger calls for participation in demonstrations to demand the freedom of Julian Assange. wsws.org John Pilger, journalist, filmmaker and outspoken opponent of militarism and injustice, will be one of the main speakers at the demonstration in Sydney.
(2019-02-17). Can Turkey and Syria actually come to an agreement? uwidata.com 
Ankara, who is now shifting away from the USA and towards the regional powers, is expected to begin negotiations with Damascus. Of course right now a low level exterior politics is underway with Syria. At this situation, intelligence agencies cannot just say "We execute whatever our leader orders.". Many times leaders are off the grid, […]
(2019-02-17). US Investigators Probing Years of WikiLeaks Activities. theantimedia.com (ANTIWAR.COM) — Officially, the US government has barely conceded that there is an investigation into WikiLeaks at all. Yet after years of efforts to quietly vilify the whistleblower for its publications. The efforts to overtly criminalize the group are picking up pace. The government has accidentally admitted to charges against Assange, at least in secret, and WikiLeaks is …
(2019-02-17). What Brett Kavanaugh's Dishonest Anti-Abortion Dissent Reveals About His Supreme Court Agenda. theintercept.com The most obvious thing about the Supreme Court's decision to stay a Louisiana law that would have shuttered two of the state's three remaining abortion clinics is that it was Chief Justice John Roberts who stopped that from happening. Roberts joined the court's four more liberal justices to deliver a 5-4 majority that maintains the status quo, for now, and keeps the clinics open. | What is perhaps less obvious, at least at first glance, is the level of intellectual dishonesty baked into a four-page dissent penned by the court's newest justi…
(2019-02-16). Mueller recommends 19+ year sentence for Manafort. rt.com 
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office has requested that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort get 19 years in prison after the would-be cooperator was found to be lying to the FBI, special counsel and a grand jury.
(2019-02-16). Unequal Justice: Kavanaugh's Vote on Abortion Access Bodes Ill for Roe. progressive.org It hasn't taken Kavanaugh long to show his true colors. The big reveal came on February 7, when he voted against a "stay" that will keep a draconian Louisiana abortion law from taking effect.
(2019-02-15). Watch Webcast of 17th Assange Vigil. consortiumnews.com The 17th vigil for Julian Assange, now a weekly event every Friday, was aired today on Consortium News. Watch the replay here. The Unity4J vigils will continue until Assange is free. The guests were Garland Nixon, James Cogan, Elizabeth Vos,… Read more →
(2019-02-15). Headlines for February 15, 2019. democracynow.org Trump to Use National Emergency Declaration to Build Border Wall, "It's Incredible": Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on Amazon Scrapping NYC Project After Grassroots Protests, Report: Amazon to Pay No Federal Taxes Despite Making $11 Billion in Reported Profits, Denver Teachers Declare Victory After 3-Day Strike, More U.S. Workers Went on Strike in 2018 Than in Any Year in Three Decades, Parkland Shooting Survivor Emma González: "We Fight Our Trauma by Fighting Against Gun Violence", William Barr Sworn In as Attorney General After Senate Confirmation, Former Deputy FBI Director Speaks Out on Launching Counterintelligence Prob…
(2019-02-15). The Supreme Court Will Decide if Census Citizenship Question Is Legal. Democrats Should Also Work to Block It. theintercept.com 
House Democrats should use their oversight power to expose the Trump administration's nefarious reasons for asking about citizenship on the 2020 census.
(2019-02-15). Sarah Sanders gave Mueller 'one of the last' interviews in winding-down Russiagate probe. rt.com 
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's office — reportedly one of the last interviews of the two-year probe seeking evidence of Russian collusion with US President Trump.
(2019-02-15). SPLC statement on Supreme Court's denial of Trump administration's request to immediately enforce asylum ban. splcenter.org The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the Trump administration's request to immediately enforce a new policy of denying asylum to migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry.
(2019-02-14). Deadly US Applications of Artificial Intelligence. hrw.org 
| | In the United States and around the world, public concern is rising at the prospect of weapons systems that would select and attack targets without human intervention. | © 2018 Campaign to Stop Killer Robots | As the United States Department of Defense releases a strategy on artificial intelligence (AI), questions loom about whether the US government intends to accelerate its investments in weapo…
(2019-02-13). Venezuela Accuses U.S. of Secretly Shipping Arms After Weapons Found on Plane with Possible CIA Ties. democracynow.org 
A North Carolina-based air freight company has halted flights to Venezuela following a report by McClatchy linking it to possible arms smuggling. Last week, Venezuelan authorities claimed they had uncovered 19 assault weapons, 118 ammunition cartridges and 90 military-grade radio antennas on board a U.S.-owned plane that had flown from Miami into Valencia, Venezuela's third-largest city. The Boeing 767 is owned by a company called 21 Air based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The plane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between Miami and spots in Venezuela and Colombia since January 11, the day after Venezuelan…
(2019-02-13). Peru: Supreme Court confirms annulment of Fujimori's pardon and supports victims' rights. amnesty.org The Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice has confirmed an earlier ruling that the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori on 24 December 2017 has no legal effect. In an initial response to the decision, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: | "This decision represents the closure that victims of the crimes against humanity and serious human rights violations — crimes for which former President Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison — have been waiting for. It comes after wounds were unnecessarily reopened by the decision to grant F…
(2019-02-12). What it Really Takes to Secure Peace in Afghanistan. progressive.org Constant military surveillance of Afghans yields almost no real intelligence about the problems they face each day. An unusual group of volunteers uses a far different approach.
(2019-02-11). The Supreme Court Is Playing Favorites With Religion. aclu.org The court's recent decisions threaten religious neutrality — the "clearest command" of the Establishment Clause. | Last week, the Supreme Court permitted the state of Alabama to execute a Muslim man, Domineque Ray, without his religious advisor present. The court's 5-4 decision reversed an emergency lower-court order that had temporarily delayed the execution because of grave concerns that Alabama's pr…
(2019-01-16). Was that the Onion or Reuters Quoting Mike Pompeo on Venezuela? zcomm.org This Reuters article says "The Maduro regime is illegitimate and the United States will work diligently to restore a real democracy to that country," Pompeo told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he is on a tour of Middle East countries. " [emphasis added] The Onion might have simply changed "countries" above to "dictatorships" or, Read more…
(2019-01-10). Farewell to bblum6. zcomm.org Bill Blum passed away early last month in Virginia. Many Z Net readers will know his canonical book, Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII, or remember his regular newsletter Anti-Empire Report. My first contact with Bill came in 1995 when I wrote him about something he had written on the Cold War. Read more…
(2018-11-29). On Julian Assange and the Political Economy & future of Europe. zcomm.org Interview on the socio-economic transformations taking place within the core of the European Union and how much time is left until it disintegrates…
(2018-11-26). Crucifying Julian Assange. zcomm.org Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, journalist and editor-in-chief, Consortium, discuss efforts to force #WikiLeaks publisher, #JulianAssange, out of the Ecuador Embassy in London and extradite him to the USA to stand trial.